For the Good of the Fleet
by HCHawke
Summary: With the Quarian-Geth war in full swing, one particular Marine squad sees both the best and the worst of the short, brutal conflict. My own take on the war from a grunt perspective, with a few cameos of characters we all know and love. More characters, both OC and from ME will be introduced as the war goes on. Rated T for Violence.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the original Mass Effect Universe, only my own characters

Author's Note: First Fanfic, so I'm not exactly sure how this will turn out. I'm hoping some people will find some interest and would love reviews and thoughts on my little side-project here.

CHAPTER I

Silently the Orah drifted through space, waiting patiently for the right moment. In the silence, the quarians could be heard doing last minute checks of their weapons and gear. Some of the newer marines could be heard nervously chatting quietly, ranging in content from simple gossip of the Admiralty Board to last wishes. Aer'Iean couldn't blame them. A week ago, if someone had said they'd be retaking the Homeworld, he'd have thought they had lost it. Now, less than a week later and he's sitting aboard a ship lying in wait for a Geth cruiser.

Strange galaxy.

Word of the Reapers arrived a few weeks ago. News spread through the Fleet like crazy. The Admiralty Board recalled everyone they could, and started stockpiling everything, from eezo to weapons to thermal clips and repair parts. Then the quarians get a break. Word from up high said one of the Admirals, Daro'Xen, had finally figured out a way to get through the geth firewalls and disable them. So here he was, sitting in orbit around Dholen, waiting for a Geth cruiser and supporting ships to float close enough. Supposedly, this new tech should render the flashlights blind and deaf, a sort of sensor flashbang. But all the tests and paperwork couldn't prepare you for actually having to put your lives on unproven tech.

The shipwide intercom comes live, blaring "All hands, battle stations! Prepare for combat!" _Point of no return _he thought to himself. Around him, quarians started to get up and load into the shuttles. Most would be heading down to Haestrom to engage ground based targets in the hellish sunlight. His company, however, was assigned to deal with the cruiser. _This countermeasure of Xen's better work... _he thought grimly. As he boarded his shuttle, he began to think back on all his missions with the Migrant Fleet Marines. He'd been in bad situations before, but walking onto a Geth cruiser after an unproven tech is supposed to disable it? He was nervous. The whole situation, galaxy going to hell, war with the Geth, and having no power over his situation was getting to him. "We're going to win, right?" Aer'Iean blinked, before realizing the question was meant for him. The asker, a young quarian named Cor'Vel, just back from his Pilgrimage and assigned to Nightmare squadron, looked back at him through his visor. "That's what we do here, generally. Just remember to stick close to the team." Aer told him with a forced grin behind his helmet. _Kid shouldn't even be here _he thought to himself.

Shuttle hatches locked and engines began powering up. Minutes later they were drifting towards the unresponsive geth cruiser. _Looks like Xen's toy came through, _he seeing this, the unit CO turned to the squads and started yelling orders. "First squad, bridge! Aer, second squad, main battery! Horx, third squad, engines!" shouted Kal'Reegar, the new leader of First Company, Nightmare squadron. "Get it right, get it done!" Horx and Aer replied in unison "Yes sir!" The marines started final checks of their gear. "Ten seconds to target" came from the cockpit. As the shuttle gracefully glided into the geth fighter bay, doors came up and quarians dropped down. Heavy fire from Adas Anti-Synthetic Rifles sounded in the confined hangar bay, thinning the geth platforms around the shuttle. "Second squad, battery!" Reegar shouted. "I want those guns offline in case they regain control of the ship! Third squad, engines! I'm not keen on letting the Geth take us for a ride! First squad, on me!"

* * *

As Second squad made their way through the tight corridors, the Geth started to give more and more resistance. Several minutes later, they finally made it into the main battery, just as advanced Geth platforms came online. Seeing a platform painted yellow, Aer knew things were about to get more difficult. "Jan!" he shouted, "Take out that Pyro! Cor, three on the stairs!" As the quarians laid down suppressing fire on the geth, Aer scanned the battlefield. Stairs up to the catwalks overhead on the right, cover on the left, along with the main cannon. Just a squad of geth between them and the control center. Pulling out an Arc Grenade, Aer hurled it towards a group of Rocket Troopers on a bridge from the right catwalks towards the main gun, dropping their shields in a blue light show and momentarily buying the squad time to deal with the rest of infantry. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a faint shimmer moving towards Cor'Vel's exposed back. Shouldering his Adas, he fired a pair of energy rounds towards the concealed Hunter, dropping it's shields and stunning it momentarily. "Cor! Move!" He shouts as Cor tries to hurl himself from the Hunter. Kezz, the fourth member of second squad and team sniper, hearing the Hunter behind their lines, pulls his Arc Pistol and fires a trio of rounds into the elongated neck of the geth. Satisfied with the smoking remains, holsters his pistol and shoulders his M-92 Mantis, continuing to pick off resistance.

The Hunter out of the way, Aer grabs Cor by his shoulder and starts dragging him over to cover, laying down suppressing fire with his Adas. Finally silence falls in the main battery. "Sitrep!" Aer shouts, glancing around the now quiet bay. "Never touched my shields" said Kezz. "Nice going Jan." The quarian in question turned around, looking no worse for wear. "Few new scrapes, nothing noteworthy sir." she says, reloading her Adas. Cor was sitting up against the main cannon wall, trying to get himself under control. "I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again." _If it does, I doubt it will for a third time..._ He thought grimly. "Jan, get those guns offline. Hopefully Reegar and First squad took the bridge and shut down the rest of the Flashlights."

As Jan headed over towards the control station, Aer went over to Cor and offered his hand, pulling Cor up to his feet. "Doing good, Cor. We're nearly done here. Just keep it together, okay?" Cor nods, looking down to the deck. "Yes sir." Aer heads over to where Cor dropped his rifle and picks it up, tossing it back to the recruit. "Jan, where are we at?" he asks. After a moment, she answered "Everything is red. Reading engines are offline, platforms are fifty percent offline, with another fifteen destroyed." Aer smiled under his helmet. _Finally, good news._ Tapping a few buttons on his Omni-tool, he keyed up the command frequency. "Aer'Iean, second squad. Main battery offline and clear. Awaiting orders." An authoritative voice came over the comm a few seconds later. "Confirmed second squad. First company, nice work. All objectives completed. Teams on the ground encountering resistance. The rest of the task force are in route, ETA four minutes. Prepare for transport back to the Orah. Captain Lok'Zorn out."

"You heard the man, back to the shuttle. Keep it tight second squad. Jan, point." Aer ordered as he checks the thermal clip on his Adas, heading for the door. Several minutes later, they entered the shuttle bay unopposed. First squad was already by the shuttles, with a few scrapes but otherwise fine. Third squad was still not there though. "Aer. Any word from third squad?" asked Reegar as second squad approached. Aer frowned under his visor. "You haven't had word either?" "Nothing since we took the bridge. I don't like it." Aer was about to agree when a burst of static came over the comms. "I say again, this is Horx'Len, we're being overrun in the engine bay, Prime units sighted! We need assistance at our location now!" Kal turned towards the engine room bulkhead and broke out at a run. "First squad, on me! Second, hold the shuttles!" he yelled as he disappeared through the doorway, first squad right behind him.

"You heard the man. Kezz, set up in the shuttle. Jan, set up on that catwalk. Cor, watch the far door. Should if you even THINK you saw something, yell. Loud." Four quarians went to work instantly, with Kezz providing overwatch from the shuttle, Jan setting up on a catwalk running the length of the fighter bay, and Cor setting up behind a crate to watch the far door. Aer took the time to drag a crate towards the shuttle door, providing cover for him and Kezz. The silence was finally broken by Cor. "Boss! Incoming!" Aer turned to look, and saw nearly twenty geth of various platforms, ranging from basic infantry, to pyros, to the telltale shimmer of Hunters. "Open fire!" he yelled. As the bark of Adas rifles and Geth Pulse Rifles filled the hangar bay, broken occasionally by the occasional quick and deadly Mantis round, Jan slowly moved into position, priming several Arc Grenades from her perch on the catwalks.

In a shower of blue sparks and lightning, the geth sputtered and dropped to the deck as Jan's Arc Grenades impacted the deck around them, while Aer and Cor continued to spray them down with Adas rounds, smothering them in a lightning storm. Finally, as the last one fell, silence descended upon the fighter bay once again.. Aer keyed up his comm and began to report. "Second squad here, approximately twenty flashlights down at hangar, clear as of now. ETA?" Silence follows for several seconds. Finally the comm crackles. "-In hot, wounded, repeat, heading to hangar, ETA twenty seconds, coming in hot. Respond!" "This is Aer, we're ready for you at the hangar."

* * *

Several minutes and a small firefight later, the shuttle was in route to the Orah, with Horx'Len being stabilized by the squad medic from first squad, Lin'Taxa with help from Jan'Thant from second squad. The rest of third squad was KIA. Aer stared at the deck the whole flight back to the Orah, hoping this had been worth it. "Acceptable Casualties" they said. "For the Good of the Fleet" they had said. Didn't make it any easier, losing someone who has been at your back more times than either could count. _All because some Admiral wanted new toys to play with_ he thought sourly. Still, the invasion was going well, with eighty percent of Haestrom having fallen in the first hour with the new countermeasures. Given projected casualties previously without the countermeasure, the war was going far beyond expectations. And he was still a Marine. He'd go where the Fleet sends him. His thoughts drifted to his Homeworld, Rannoch. He'd be there soon, he realized. To be able to step foot on the Homeworld again...

As the shuttle glided into the hangar bay, he glanced over at Cor. He'd been silent ever since the geth hangar bay. Worried that the kid may have cracked, he placed a hand on his shoulder. "You holding, Cor?" He could see Cor's eyes close behind his visor. "I'm ready to take the fight to the Geth. To retake the Homeworld." "Just make sure your head is in the right place. Fighting angry is nearly worse than tired." Cor nodded. Finally the shuttle doors opened and they quarians piled out, with first squad and Jan taking Horx'Len to the infirmary. As they left, the Captain of the Orah, Lok'Zorn then came through the doors of the hangar. "Reegar, nicely done. Admiral Daro'Xen sends her thanks for the new tech to study. You and your company did the fleet proud. This may be the first time we've captured an intact geth vessel." Kal stepped forward and saluted the captain. "Just did what we had to, sir." Lok'Zorn matched his salute, before turning to the rest of us. "We're bound for the Ma-at system. While the bulk of the task force keeps the geth busy in the Dholen system, we're going to strike a geth communications array in the upper atmosphere of the gas giant that the Fleet wants it out of commission. We'll need to land ground forces, so get some sleep." And with that, Lok'Zorn and Kal'Reegar headed towards the bridge, leaving second squad in the hangar bay.

Aer decided to break the silence. "Nice work you 've got thirty hours before any action. Get some food and rest." he told Cor and Kezz. Kezz snapped off a crisp salute, Cor nodded, and both headed off towards the mess. Aer stood in the hangar, alone, lost in thought, for a few minutes more, wondering once again, if this war was worth the price. Finding no answers, he made his way to his bunk, and the oblivion of sleep.

* * *

Several hours later, Aer finally awoke, not feeling much better than when he had started. Now feeling hungry and tired, he decided to head to the mess hall to at least alleviate one issue. A few hallways later, he was in the Orah's small mess hall, fixing himself a tray of steamed vegetables, before searching for a table. He spotted a nearly empty table, occupied by Jan of his squad, and headed over, nodding his head to her before sitting down himself. "How's Horx doing?" he asked. Jan finished what she was chewing before responding. "Docs think he'll get away with just a minor infection. Reegar said he had worse the last time he was on Haestrom." she replied. Aer nodded absently, before silently beginning to work on his own meal. "There was nothing we could do for them, Aer." she said, trying to get through to him. "Third squad knew the risks going in. Without that countermeasure, we'd have all died. This will help us take the Homeworld." Aer looked up from his meal. "Aye, we all signed up for this. It's just never easy, you know?" She nodded absently, before returning to her meal. "You get any sleep yet, or are you still running off adrenaline?" Aer asked curiously. "I've handled worse. I'll probably get a few hours after this before we reach Ma-at." she replied drily. "Speaking of, thoughts on Cor?" she asked. Aer thought for a minute. "I'm not entirely sure yet, to be honest. He's a good kid, and eager, but I'm not sure Special Forces are for him." he replied, before taking another few bites of his meal. "After that mission, I'm not sure how he'll be under fire anymore. He's determined now, but I think after what happened on that cruiser, he's likely to be a loose cannon." Jan simply nodded in agreement.

"Word from the Fleet suggest at least one more system has fallen, and we should be above the Homeworld within a week." Jan said finally, after she had finished her meal. Aer nodded. _At least something is going our way_ he thought. "Any word on the task force at Dholen?" He asked as he finished the rest of his meal. "Last report, Haestrom was falling rapidly, and they expect complete control of the system by the time we make it to Ma-at." she replied. "Latest intel from Ammut says only a few small frigates on patrol around the system. The Orah should be able to simply slip in." Aer smiled faintly as he recalled the specifications for the Orah. Not too dissimilar to the Systems Alliance's SSV Normandy SR-1, the Orah was part of a new design masterminded by the Special Projects Fleet, under Admiral Daro'Xen. The design used an internal emission sink, or IES system similar to the Normandy, but also incorporated a specialized Anti-Geth Countermeasure system. Able to jam certain signals and mask it's signature from Geth ships made vessels like the Orah very valuable to the Flotilla. _Not to mention terrifying to the Council races if they found out that we had something like the Normandy _he thought grimly.

Ever since the Trial of Tali'Zorah, The Admirals, specifically Han'Gerrel and Daro'Xen, had been preparing the Fleet for all out war with the Geth. Between raiding the planet Korlus for weaponry, much to the displeasure of the occupying Blue Suns, and Xen's new weapon and ship designs, the Council races had been getting more and more nervous. Fifty-thousand ships, including the massive quarian Liveships, all armed in some way, even some up to Dreadnought level. But, with the Reapers now carving their way through the galaxy, the Council has bigger things to worry about than the quarians breaking a few treaties. _Besides,_ he thought darkly, _None of them have lost their homeworld for three hundred years. Now they're getting a taste of what we went through. _

"Figured you two would be catching some sleep." Aer'Iean blinked out of his thoughts to see Kal'Reegar heading over with a tray of his own. Aer sat a little straighter as Reegar sat down next to Jan, across from him. "Sir. Apologizes, didn't see you approach." Kal waved it off. "Don't worry about it." Aer relaxed again for the most part. "Got a few hours of sleep, but...after that, didn't get what you would call rest." Kal simply nodded. "I understand that all too well. Last time I was in the Dholen system, I lost my entire unit and most of the team we were sent to protect. Hell, if it wasn't for Shepard, none of us would have made it off that rock." Aer's brows furrowed as he thought back. Jan asked "When was this operation?" "About a year ago, just before the Trial. We were assigned to guard a science team checking out the sun on Haestrom. Made it to an observatory on the surface, then the geth started dropping in. Science team set up in the observatory, and we pulled back to cover 'em. Next thing I know, they dropped a Colossus at the observatory door." Reegar took a few bites of his now cooling food before continuing. "By the time Shepard and her team got to me, I had a suit rupture, most of my weapons had shorted out from the damn sun, and was trying to keep em from hacking the observatory door by shooting rockets at 'em. And after the geth wiped out my whole squad, I was ready to kill them with rocks if I had to. Shepard caught up and had me cover her flank while she and her squad wrecked the Colossus without missing a beat."

Aer blinked as he processed the final sentence. "Infantry took out a COLOSSUS?" he asked in disbelief. "I'd have never believed it if I didn't see it either." he replied. "Colossus never stood a chance. I'd heard the stories from Tali'Zorah, the one leading the science team, but actually seeing it...That's something else entirely." Jan whistled under her helmet. "Sounds impressive." Kal took a few more bites before answering. "Given my last time in the Dholen system, I can understand how you feel, Aer'Iean. But we have a war to win. What we do is for the Good of the Fleet. Seventeen million lives are riding on this." Aer nodded, some of his fire back. "Understood. We'll get it done." Reegar smiled under his helmet. "Good man."

* * *

Word was still coming in of the battle in the Dholen system by the time the Orah dropped out of FTL in the Ma-at system. The task force, formed from elements of the Patrol fleet and the Heavy fleet, was decimating the Geth fleet in the Dholen system, with Haestrom having fallen already and Charoum close to it. All that was left was taking Ma-at system, while the rest of the Fleet finished capturing the other geth systems in preparation for the final attack on Tikkun. Ten days into the war and the quarians were already within striking distance of the Homeworld, thanks to Xen's new countermeasures. While Aer didn't agree with Admiral Daro'Xen, thinking that she may indeed by unstable, he couldn't deny that they were here due in no small part to her experiments. Her latest toy, a new Tactical Scanning program designed from tech recovered from the geth cruiser, was supposed to be able to recognize a target and create an advanced HUD display of the defensive situation of the target, along with a holographic display from the users Onmi-tool onto the user's HUD. Nightmare squadron had been chosen to run field tests of the program, along with several other Special Forces companies. With any luck, this would give the quarians a counter to the Geth's inherent Hunter Mode runtime.

As the Orah's stealth systems brought the vessel closer to Ammut's upper atmosphere, Aer'Iean once again found himself in a shuttle awaiting launch. Both First and Second squads were preparing to disembark when the shuttle finally left the Orah's forward hangar bay. The geth communications station hung in the upper atmosphere of the gas giant Ammut, quietly oblivious to the squad of Marines now in route to it. Kal'Reegar stood up and glanced around the cramped shuttle bay, before finally briefing them. "We'll be dropping off on the top of the station proper. Expect high winds and little gravity. Mag-boots will be required until we find either an access hatch, then we'll find out the interior conditions. First squad will be hitting the main control processors, with Second moving to plant explosives at critical junctions of the station. With any luck, First will knock out enough of the processors that we'll encounter very little resistance. Remember, command wants us to try out and get used to the new Tactical Scanning systems, so remember to use it. Check your corners and keep comms open at all times." Seven quarians replied "Yes sir!" And with that, they all checked their gear and prepared to drop.

As the shuttle glided towards the top of the station, the hatches finally popped, revealing the sickly yellow and green atmosphere, allowing the quarians to drop to the outer hull of the station. Using Mag-boots to connect to the station, they began to move forward against the strong winds towards the center of the massive station. Over the internal comms came Kal's voice. "Thant, picking up an access point?" Jan's voice soon came back, "Directly ahead, twenty meters. I should be able to hack it once the countermeasure goes live." "Acknowledged, transmitting to Orah to begin countermeasure in sixty seconds." Two minutes later, they were inside the station, with the sounds of the Orah opening fire on the three frigates that were, up till a few moments ago, were holding around the station. With the countermeasure in place, it would be possible to move through the station and engage geth on a room by room basis without alerting the entire station. In theory.

As Second squad headed down the corridors towards their first objective, having broken off from First Squad, Aer wondered how the rest of the invasion was going. Just as we rounded another corner into a T-junction, however, the hallway lit up in a hail of pulse rounds from geth units. "Cover!" Aer yelled to the rest of the team, hurling himself back behind the corner and relative cover of the hallway. As they sat there listening to the maelstrom of rounds impacting the nearby wall to their left, Kezz noticed something. "That doesn't sound like a Pulse Rifle, Aer. Hell, it doesn't sound like ANYTHING they field. It's tearing the wall to shreds." he claimed, pointing to the section of wall exposed to the hallway. Sure enough, the wall was steadily being vaporized by the unfamiliar weapon. As the geth fire started to die down a bit, he decided to test the new Tactical Scan system, aiming it through the wall at what he believed was their position. He didn't like what he saw. "Looks like they've got at least four basic platforms and a Prime." he told the rest of his team. "Ideas?" Jan was the first to speak up. "The Prime is most likely to be carrying the heavy weapon, we just need to take it out of commision temporarily. A well placed Arc Grenade would possibly take it offline." Kezz glances at the ghostly orange silhouettes of the group through the wall, created by his HUD, and gets an idea. "I think I saw some crates back a hall. We could use them as a shield of sorts while we throw the Arcs. Then, I can pop up and see about taking the things head off." Aer thinks for a moment before nodding. "Take Cor and go grab 'em. Jan and I will hold here."

As they disappeared, Aer keyed up his comm to the command frequency. "First squad, this is Aer'Iean. We've encountered a new heavy weapon of some sort. Thing is chewing apart the walls. We're delayed at the moment, status?" A few seconds later, he got a reply. "Kal'Reegar here, we've made it to the command deck but we're encountering heavy resistance at the control room doors. See if you can get the weapon, even remains. We'll know more once we're inside. Keelah se'lai!" Aer heard an explosion shortly before the comm was cut off. Cor and Kezz returned shortly thereafter, dragging and pushing a few crates. A few moments later, they had erected a pseudo-barrier to push out and hide behind, giving limited cover, while they primed and threw their Grenades. All that was left was doing it. "Okay, Kezz, as soon as you hear the detonations, I want that thing's head gone. Cor, you'll push the boxes from behind the wall for cover. Jan, prime the Arcs and toss em to me, I'll hurl em down the hall. Hopefully the crates will hold..." Aer said as he checked the Tactical Scan one last time and memorizing it. "Ready?" With three confirmations, all four moved. Aer jumped low, keeping his back to the crates and began tossing grenades that Jan threw over the crates backwards. Six seconds later, it was all over. The front of the crates had been chewed nearly apart, but they had bought enough time for the Arc Grenades to do their job. Kezz popped out of cover and fired a single, deadly round straight into the Prime's "eye", destroying the head of the unit. The other units fell to the grenades and Cor's Adas fire. Grabbing Jan's extended hand, Aer got up and grabbed his rifle, moving down the hallway slowly, backed by his squad.

As they neared the still sparking remains of the geth squad, he started looking around for the weapon. He didn't have to look far. Looking like a Geth Pulse Rifle, but much larger, it incorporated a quartet of revolving barrels, similar to his own Adas rifle. "Cor, grab that thing. The techs can figure out what in death's name it is and does." Aer ordered as they moved past the remains, before keying up his comm. "Second squad here, obstacle dealt with, weapon acquired. Proceeding with primary objectives." "Copy that Second, We've got the station under control for the most part. We're trying to get the guns live to give Orah a hand. Some geth are still active in the lower parts of the station, keep your eyes open." "Copy that First, Aer'Iean out."

* * *

"How did I get picked for this job?" asked Kezz a half hour later, as he hung upside-down from the catwalk, Cor holding his legs as he slid the explosives into position under the platform. "Because we need Jan on the console keeping that door open so you CAN place them." replied Aer, keeping watch on the door. "This is the last target, quit bellyaching and get it done." Grumbling as he went, Kezz finally got the final charge in place and was climbing back upright when the far door opened and the telltale shimmer of Hunters filed through. "Company!" Aer shouted, as he opened up with his Adas, followed shortly after by Cor's, and finally Jan's. Targeting the lead Hunter, Aer unloaded a payload of blue energy rounds, exploding on impact creating a lightning-blue light show. He watched as the rest of his squad, with pinpoint precision, dispatched the Hunters around the doorway. When the fifth one fell, silence finally descended on the bay. Aer keyed up his comm, "Second squad here, all objectives complete. Returning to hatch. Out." His reply came shortly after. "Halfway to extraction, we'll meet you there. Out."

As they rounded the final corner, they arrived at the hatch they entered through and saw First squad awaiting them. Kal nodded as they approached. "Nice work. Shuttle will be here momentarily. The Orah had a few issues with fighters, but we seem to be in the clear." Several minutes later, they were aboard the shuttle heading towards the Orah. As Aer'Iean studied the detonator in his hands, Kal finally nods to him. Holding his breath, he flips the cap up and activates the detonator. Muffled explosions could be heard through the shuttle hull as the station began breaking itself apart. Cor shouted "Keelah! Take that, ya bosh'tets!" Aer chuckled under his visor. _We may just make a Marine out of him yet _he thought as the shuttle glided into the Orah's hangar bay.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect, or it's characters/events. Just my own OCs and various side events.

CHAPTER II

Aer was just sitting down with the rest of his team in the mess when the shipwide intercom came live. "All hands, we've just received word from the Neema. We're reporting victory on nearly every front. All ships are being recalled to the Far Rim Relay. Final approach on the Tikkun system begins at oh-nineteen hundred hours. Captain Lok'Zorn out." As he finished sitting down next to Cor, across from Jan and Kezz, Jan looked up from her meal and asked "So, what did the techs think of that new weapon? They had a few days with it now, surely they figured something out." "Techs don't know what to think. Seems like it's more like the Plasma Shotguns then like the Pulse Rifles. Ammo flash-turns to plasma." Kezz snorted under his helmet. "Explains the wall then, at least" he said sourly. Aer nodded. "Nasty piece of hardware. Here's the thing though. They seem to think it was designed to be used against synthetic targets. Possibly even other geth." Cor was the first to answer. "Why would the geth need a weapon to use against themselves?" Jan chimed in "According to Admiral Zorah, the geth that attacked the Citadel a few years back were a splinter faction of some sort. There were rumors of a geth "civil war" brewing for awhile too. Might be signs of an internal struggle of some sort." Kezz finished his bite before responding. "True, but I thought they were dealt with by Admiral Zorah and her captain there, what's her name?" Aer chuckled. "Leave it to Kezz to forget the 'Savior of the Citadel.'" "Hey, some of us prefer to spend our free time becoming a better shot. Something you should consider doing from time to time." Aer shook his head. "That's why the Adas takes care of the little things. Like aiming." Jan chuckled, but Kezz simply glared mockingly before returning to his food. Aer smiled at the exchange before putting his arm around Cor's shoulders, causing him to stiffen from the unexpected contact. "So lad, how're you liking Nightmare squadron?" Cor thought for a moment. "Not what I'm used to. Granted, I've never been in Special Forces before now. Or the military. Or a firefight for that matter," he replied dryly. "Overall though...I'm grateful you three kept me around. I've learned a lot. Including several ways to not get shot." Aer slapped his back. "We'll get out of this war yet, lad. Keelah se'lai."

"So, eleven hours until we finally go home," said Cor. "Hard to believe, after everything that's happened, we'll be home." Kezz snorted. "Along with a few million geth between us and Rannoch. The real work starts tonight." "Oh, lighten up, Kezz," Jan said jokingly. "It's been three hundred years in the making. Let the lad be." Aer chuckled as he listened to his squad's banter while he ate. _It has been a long time coming_ he thought. After everything the quarian people had been through, they were almost home. He silently remember all those who didn't make it to this moment. _A long time coming, indeed._

* * *

In the final hours of preparation for the invasion, Aer found sleep elusive. The Orah was due to regroup with the Neema and the rest of the Flotilla in three hours. Preparations were well underway by the time he woke up, a bit groggy, but otherwise ready. Having nothing to do until zero-hour, he decided to simply wander the ship. He eventually found himself looking over the forward shuttle bay, thinking of what was to come. The Orah was ready, as were her crew. First and Second companies of Nightmare squadron would begin preparing for deployment within the next few hours, tasked with hitting several high priority targets. First Company would be targeting a massive geth orbital station currently above Kaddi, along with a unit of basic quarian infantry, while Second Company was tasked with infiltrating geth stations above Adas in preparation for assault. They were just small elements of the otherwise massive invasion of the Tikkun system, however. The entire quarian Flotilla was amassing, all fifty thousand ships and seventeen million quarians. The largest fleet in the galaxy. Their entire race.

Aer was interrupted from his thoughts by Jan. "Couldn't sleep either, huh?" she asked as she walked up next to him, leaning against the railing overlooking the hangar deck. "Not with everything about to go nova," he replied. "The others up yet?" he asked as they watched techs scurry around the deck. "Cor was cleaning his Adas when I left the crew quarters. He's dedicated, I'll give him that. Kezz was still asleep when I left. I swear, he would sleep through the war if we didn't occasionally inconvenience his existence with geth," she replied. Aer chuckled. "Sounds like Kezz. He's been like that since we were kids on the Shellen. Bosh'tet slept through an emergency drill once." Jan laughed lightly. "Certainly sounds like him. You two went through basic together, then?" she asked. "Actually, when we began our Pilgrimages, we went our separate ways. Wasn't until I was assigned to Nightmare squadron that I caught up with him again. His parents were surprised when he joined the Marines." Jan nodded knowingly. "My mother was furious when I wanted to join the Marines. She wanted me to become an engineer on the Rayya, like her. But my father saw how much it meant to me, so he pulled some favors from the Captain, Kar'Danna, and got me transferred to a Marine posting. I had barely two missions under my belt before I was chosen for Nightmare," she recalled. "I thought 'I'm far too young to be in a Special Forces team.' But, after a few missions, it started coming easier."

Aer nodded. "Now look at us. Operators in one of the top Special Forces units in the Flotilla. Training someone who was even younger than we were when we joined. Ever see your life heading this way?" Aer asked. Jan thought for a moment. "I honestly saw someone like me being posted on a ship as a part-time engineer, part-time constable. I figured they'd regulate me to support, with my skillset. But apparently someone up high thought I'd fit better in Special Forces. What about you? Is this what you wanted to do with your life?" It was Aer's turn to think for a moment. "My father was a Marine. Died when I was young on a mission along the geth border. Mother raised me for the most part, with me and Kezz inseparable when we were younger. When I got back from my Pilgrimage, I decided to at least take the basic tests, if for nothing else than honoring my father. Scored high and was offered a position in the Marines." Aer smiled faintly under his helmet as he reminisced. "I remember, my mother was so proud when I got accepted into the Marines. Said I reminded her of father. Can't say it's what I'd have picked in an ideal world, but it's made me who I am today." Jan nodded. And as they watched in silence as the techs scurried around the deck, preparing for the final campaign, Aer silently wondered to himself what he would do if things had been different.

* * *

_Clean the barrels. Check the grips. Check internal systems. _Cor silently and methodically cleaned and checked his Adas Anti-Synthetic Rifle from front to back, inside and out. He was determined to show the others that he wasn't a burden. With everything at stake, he wasn't about to let the rest of Nightmare Squadron down. _Check energy levels._ He was interrupted from his vigil as he heard Kezz yawning behind his helmet, beginning to stir. "How long have you been at that, Cor?" Kezz questioned. Cor checked his HUD time. "About a half hour," he replied. "Wanted to make sure it hadn't taken any damage from yesterday." Kezz nodded absently as he began to regain consciousness. "Can I ask you something?" Kezz's eyes widened and glanced from his bunk to Cor. "You just did," he replied with a small chuckle. The expression behind Cor's visor turned to one of confusion, before continuing. "Why did you join up with the Marines?"

Kezz sat up, coming fully awake finally with the question. "Why did I join? I guess I wanted to help make a difference. While out on Pilgrimage, I saw countless instances of quarians being turned away because of our suits, our ways. You could see it in their eyes. 'What's that suit-wearer doing here on the Citadel?' 'We're sorry but Illium refuses to allow you to obtain a visa.' Guess I decided that I wanted to make sure we quarians had a home of our own. No more relying on the other races," Kezz finished, blinking at his own statement. It'd had been a while since he got that worked up.

Cor didn't seem to mind it that much. "I guess I can see that. I was barely out on my Pilgrimage when the call home came. Heck, before a few days ago, I'd never even been in a firefight. Are the other races really that bad?" he asked curiously. Kezz snorted. "We're barely tolerated because of what our ancestor's did. Some of the Asari still blame us specifically for their loved ones being on Rannoch during the Geth War. I guess you could say that's why I fight." Cor nodded, continuing to work on his rifle. "Think we've got a shot at winning this?" he asked after a moment. Kezz thought back on the previous engagements they'd been in, and the upcoming battles. "You'd have to ask the Admiral's that one. All I know is I'm going to see our Homeworld if I have to drop every Geth from here to Adas to do it," he finished grimly. "Come on, we should get some food before everything goes to hell. And see where Jan and Aer vanished to."

* * *

A few hours later, the rest of First Company piled into the shuttle, making final gear checks. All of them knew what they had to do. They all knew what was about to happen. The largest conflict for the quarians since the original flight from Rannoch was about to begin. Every single quarian knew that this would either be the greatest triumph in their long history, or the death of their entire way of life.

As the minutes to zero-hour ticked down, and the Flotilla formed around the Far Rim Mass Relay in the Dholen system, everyone prepared for the worst. As Aer expected, shortly before the Fleet made the final Relay jump, Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema's voice came across the fleet-wide communications. "Fellow quarians of the Migrant Fleet. Sons and daughters of Rannoch. We stand upon the precipice, the final step in retaking our Homeworld. After three centuries, we're finally going home. We've had our first victories against the geth in the last few days. But the real battle for our Homeworld is about to begin. We all need to be ready to give it our all. We must be ready to do whatever it takes to reclaim our home. Even with all our advances against the geth, this will be our hardest fight since we were driven from Rannoch, but we will stand together! United, we can overcome the geth, and retake our ancestral Homeworld! Together, we WILL have victory! Fly safe, captains. 'May you stand between your crew and harm as you lead them through the empty quarters of the stars.' Han'Gerrel out."

The audio feed cut off as the the shuttle hatches closed around the Marines, and silence filled the cramped confines of the shuttle crew bay, Aer felt the collective seventeen million members of his race hold their breath. And he felt, as the Orah followed the rest of the Flotilla through the Relay, and as they crossed the Perseus Veil, that he was finally home.

That's when all hell broke loose.

Even with the new countermeasures, the geth still had one of the largest fleets in the galaxy. Weapons fired and ships shook, as the largest battle in quarian history began. And as much as Aer wanted to take part in the massive space battle, to tell his children someday that he led a ship in the battle to retake the Homeworld, he realized his place was on the station orbiting Kaddi, paving the way for the ground invasion. As Kal'Reegar stood up, he wondered to himself what he would tell them should he ever have kids. _Worry about that later, _he thought, as he shook himself back to the task at hand. _Have to survive this war first._ "Alright Marines, we'll be working with the Seventh platoon off the Cydon for this operation. The Orah will be coordinating this assault. We'll be hard dropped onto the station itself and cut our way in using specialized Disruption Charges from Special Projects. We'll work our way to the hangar control system and open the bays, so the Seventh can land troops and assist us in taking the station defenses offline. Once the station comes offline, we'll be able to use it as a staging ground to hit some of the ground-based mining complexes in preparation for the assault on Rannoch."

Two minutes later, the forward bay of the Orah opened up, and a lone shuttle took flight away from the massive battle raging between the Mass Relay and Rannoch itself. Marines checked weapons, gear, and explosives, some said prayers to their ancestors, and as they waited for the hatch to drop, all of them hoped they would see tomorrow.

* * *

One of the perks of being a space-faring race was that zero-g space operations were much easier to set up due to the Enviro-suits the quarians always wore, and their experience in external ship repairs. That being said, all the experience in the galaxy can't really prepare you for being stuck onto the side of a massive geth station by mag-boots while you plant unstable and untested explosives for the expressed purpose of blowing a hole in said station's outer hull. The device in question was a new prototype from Special Projects, designed in a similar way to the typical Disruptor Torpedo. Instead, this was developed as a shaped breach charge, designed to rapidly create unstable, randomized mass effect fields and rip a small area apart, creating an entry means, while also deploying a form of the geth countermeasure. In theory.

As Aer watched Jan carefully place the explosives in the silence of space, he tried to recall all the times Special Projects actually came through. It didn't help much. "Is anyone else thinking this may have not been the best idea, or just me?" asked Kezz, as he watched for any ships breaking off from the main battle. "It's like you have no faith in me, Kezz" Jan teased. Kezz snorted. "Faith in you, yes. Faith in untested tech made by Xen's spook division? Not likely." "Cut the chatter, Second squad" Kal's voice came over the comm. "How're things looking with the device?" Jan closed up the access panel on the device, before answering, "Had to do some rewiring of the trigger mechanism. Don't think the Special Project's team realized we'd need to use it in vacuum." Cor turned around to Jan. "You 'rewired' a brand new bomb? In what, two minutes?" A small laugh came over the comm. "Minute, thirty-three, actually. Had to reroute power from the timer display. If you'd like, I can show you after this mission. Okay, device is set, ready whenever you are, Reegar." As Second squad returned to First squad's position, Jan silently hoped that she, indeed, would have a chance to teach Cor what she knew.

Aer felt the station's outer hull shake below his feet, completely devoid of sound, as the device went off. He looked down the hull again, to see a new, massive, jagged hole in the outer hull and started towards it with the rest of Squads one and two. Upon reaching the hole, he glanced down. Well, what was currently down. He was looking down a long hallway, technically standing on an outer wall. After the squads carefully made their way through the jagged hole, careful to avoid ripping their suits, they began to move down the halls of the station in silence, due to the lack of atmosphere aboard Geth structures and ships. The silence of everything but his groups breath on their comms was starting to make Aer'Iean nervous.

"Shouldn't there be more geth on this station?" asked a slightly confused Cor. "Estimates put a few million geth on it, but we've yet to see a single one." "Geth are technically software, not hardware," replied Jan. "Same way data on an omni-tool can be moved from the tool to another type of system, whether basic computer system to basic file storage. This station is a giant server hub for the geth, with actual geth platforms being used for physical tasks." Kezz snorted. "Like shooting at us." "Control center should be up ahead on the right," Aer finally said. As they moved closer towards the hangar control center, Aer suddenly felt his gut turn to ice.

_Just nerves_ he told himself. _Focus on the task at hand. _Upon reaching the door, Jan keyed the release to open it. Nothing. "Bosh'tet..." she swore. "Locked down the door, it'll take a bit to hack it." "Do it," Reegar's voice came back hard. "If those bay doors aren't opened, we're going to have problems." Aer watched his side of the dimly-lighted hallway as she worked, ready for anything. After an extremely long minute, the door finally slid open. "Alright, Second, get in there and get those bay doors open. Horx is waiting for us," Reegar barked.

Since the destruction of Third squad left Horx'Len without a squad, it was decided to put him in charge of coordinating the Seventh platoon from the Cydon with Nightmare squadron during the operation. It was figured it would give him something to keep his mind off his unit's destruction. While First squad set up at the door to the control room, Jan went to work on the consoles, looking for what she needed to get the bay doors open. "Uh, Kal?" she asked uncertainly. Aer felt his stomach drop. "We've got a small problem. Geth platforms just went live." "Where and how many?" came the reply. "It looks like...all of them. I'm picking up geth subroutines loading into platforms. But...the countermeasures are still up. There should be no way they could cut through it."

Kal replied back "Get those doors open, now! We need the Seventh platoon in here or we're dead!" Aer turned to see Jan by the console, frozen for a moment, before she finally seemed to get ahold of herself and start working on the console. He made a mental note to ask her later. _If we survive _he added grimly. Moments later, the shuttle bay doors opened and Jan stepped back from the console with satisfaction. "We're green, boss. Tell them to head in." As soon as she finished her statement, three shuttles flew into the hangar bay, quietly descending to the deck, and offloading infantry from the Seventh. Aer recognized Horx's suit colors from the upper level windows of the control center, as he proceeded to give orders to his teams. "The Seventh is on the ground, Kal. Orders?" he asked as Second squad headed towards the door.

"Link up with the Seventh and we go from there. First priority is getting to the nearest server system and shut it down," Kal ordered, as First squad started down the hall, Second squad taking up the rear. Slowly they moved through the ship to the lifts, intending to get to the lower levels to link up with the Seventh, when ahead the lift doors opened. As Aer stared forward in horror, a pair of Geth Primes, with more of the large, rotary-based weapons, stepped out of the lift, and looked towards the squads. "Fire!" Kal shouted, and the entire unit opened up with everything they had, Adas rounds, Arc Grenades, the odd Mantis round. As they took down the shields of the Primes, they finally opened fire. The hall turned into hell as plasma rounds shredded the walls, floor, and the two farthest members of First squad. Aer watched in horror as one of the members had the front of his body outright vaporized by the plasma, the other being riddled. As he fired at one of the Primes, he noticed as the second was destroyed, shortly before his own detonated. Time seemed to slow as Lin'Taxa, the First squad medic checked the now destroyed bodies of her comrades. They were down to six already, with only Kal and Lin surviving from First squad. That's when they heard the comm from the Orah. "Nightmare squadron, this is Lok'Zorn. The geth have broken the countermeasure somehow. We need the station defenses taken down immediately, or we'll never get through to Kaddi. Top priority is taking down the station's barriers at all costs. Keelah se'lai."

Aer looked at Kal, to see him staring back. They both knew this may be their last mission. "This base needs to come down. We're not going to get another chance at this. We take this station down, even if we're still on it when they destroy it. Otherwise, the Fleet will get annihilated trying to take it out." He pushed himself off the wall, and started pacing up and down the hallway, glancing at each Marine as he went. "We've lost good people, and we'll probably lose more. But if we don't take this thing down, countless more quarians will die. What we do here today, will go down in the history of the Migrant Fleet Marines. For the Good of the Fleet! For Rannoch!" As he finished, the Marines around him grimly matched him in his warcry. And Aer knew, whether he got off this station or not, that he would do his father proud. The comm crackled to life. "This is Horx, get down here! NOW!" Kal shouted "Jan, check the lift, see if you can hack it! Aer, Cor. Cover the hallways." After a quick look at the the lift controls, Jan managed to get the lift working, and a few moments later, they were waiting for the lift doors to open.

As soon as they did, Aer and Cor took point, heading towards the Seventh's position...and the vibrations in the floor marking a firefight. After they made it to the corner, Aer peeked around to see a massive group of geth funneling into the hangar bay, including an Armature-class platform. He glanced back to the rest of the squad. "Boss, we've got a problem." As Kal and Kezz glanced around the corner themselves, Kezz asked, "I don't suppose you called Captain Shepard for armor duty, by any-ugh!" As Kal removed his elbow from Kezz's gut, he checked his Adas, and glanced at the group. "Ready?" Five nods , and a groan from Kezz later, the group moved around the corner, opening fire with everything they had. Grenades detonated, Adas's fired, Tech attacks flew out, and geth shrapnel was hurled in every direction. By the time the Seventh and the Spec Ops teams punched through the geth wave, the Seventh had taken a lot of casualties. Lin'Taxa went to work stabilizing fallen quarians of the Seventh, while Horx and Kal started plotting how to hit the defense control center. Having nothing to do but hurry up and wait, Aer worked his way to his squad, overhearing the two as he passed.

"With what we've got left," Horx said, "I doubt we'll be able to hold the flashlights off for very long. If we can take the command center at all, it'll be a nightmare holding it." Kal sighed beneath his helmet. "We knew this might be a one way trip. But if we don't get it done here, more quarians will die trying to take this base down. It's now or never," he replied grimly. As Aer crossed the hanger to the rest of Second Squad, he found Jan leaning against the hangar wall, eyes closed in thought. "Jan. How're you holding?" he asked as he walked up. Cor continued to check his Adas, while Kezz looked between Jan and Aer, wondering how things were going. Jan sighed. "I don't know. The plan...it... None of this is working. And the fact that the geth can punch through the countermeasure?" She shook her head, closing her eyes. "I don't know, Aer." He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Jan, you're the best tech I know. I know you can handle this. We can get this done. Right?" Jan remained still for a moment, before she opened her eyes, a new determination setting in. "Right." Aer nodded and patted her shoulder. "Stay sharp. We'll get through this."

As Aer walked back towards Kal and Horx, he was hoping they had a plan. "Please tell me we've got something." Kal turned to Aer. "Best guess, they figured out how to get through the countermeasure. The techs are trying to compensate, but it's like they're even more coordinated than before. They've got the majority of the lower decks locked down to keep us from getting anywhere near the control center. Horx, however, has an idea." Kal opened a hand towards Horx'Len, giving him the floor. "I can take the Seventh and hit one of the servers on this deck. The flashlights will move to hold the position, and you can slip through and hit the Kinetic Barrier generators." Aer blinked and raised a finger to argue, before closing his eyes and realizing this would probably be their only chance. Sighing, he asked "Think this will work?" Kal clenched one of his hands into a fist at his side. "We don't have much choice. We've got teams bound for Kaddi, and this station in all that's standing in our way of taking the planet." Aer brought a hand to his chin, considering the possibilities. "What about a reactor overload?" Blinking, Aer turned to see the speaker, Jan, and Kezz approaching. "If we can capture and overload one of the reactors, we can, at the very least, cause significant damage to the station and drain the barrier power levels, if not outright destroy it."

Kal considered the idea for a moment. "Even if we could make it to one of the reactors, which in and of itself would be a miracle at this point, we'd need to defend the charges until they went off." Horx seemed to consider options before speaking. "I'll do it. With whatever volunteers from the Seventh I can get." He glanced among the four others, as if waiting for the impending argument. He was met only with grim nods. They all knew what they had to do. Kal was the first to find his voice. "Nearest reactor is two-hundred meters away. We form up and push with everything we've got, lock down the reactor, and Horx and his team hold it until the charges detonate. Once the barriers are down, we signal the rest of the strike force to destroy the station." Horx nodded. "For the Homeworld," he said somberly. "For the Homeworld," came four replies.

* * *

As Second Squad followed behind the bulk of the Seventh, Cor was brought up to speed over the Squad's private channel. "I KNEW we shouldn't have relied on Xen's countermeasures so much," Kezz complained. Aer'Iean honestly couldn't blame him. Cor, on the other hand, was two steps from staying himself. "It's probably our only shot at this. If this station doesn't fall, Kaddi will be even harder to take." Kezz sighed, frustrated with both his situation and the fact that casualties would be much higher than predicted. "We'll be losing a lot of good men and women when this station goes up." Aer cut them both off. "We knew the risks going in. Admiral Gerrel wants this station down. We're here to make sure that gets done, whatever the cost." Jan, he noted, had been awfully quiet since she suggested the idea. He made a mental note to talk to her again when he got the chance. His thoughts were interrupted, however, as Kezz shouted "Flank!" Snapping out of his thoughts, Aer shouldered his Adas and started spraying down the hallway they'd come from, staggering several units back as more Adas's sounded off. The darkened hallway of the station began to glow blue from the fire on both sides, Adas and Pulse Rifle. Several members of the Seventh cried out, shields falling and suits rupturing. Aer's own shields flared as the fire intensified, causing him to dive forward on his stomach to provide a smaller target.

As the Geth fire began to wane, Aer heard over his helmet's comm, "Second Squad, form up on point. Seventh, hold the flank." Aer rose to a crouch, still firing, when he felt a hand grab his shoulder and start hauling him back. "Let's go! Kal and Horx are waiting on us," Kezz's voice yelled above the din. Shaking himself mentally, Aer stood and started falling back, allowing the Seventh to push back towards the hoard of Geth platforms that kept coming. When Second Squad finally made it to the front of the pack, they found Kal and Horx standing by a closed and fortified door, with Jan kneeling by the door attempting to hack it open. Kal nodded to Cor, Kezz, and Aer. "Soon as that door pops, kill everything inside. Any damage to the room is acceptable." The three nodded, with Kezz racking the slide of his Mantis, and Cor priming an Arc Grenade in his left hand, right holding his Adas towards the ceiling. "Got it," Jan said from her position by the door. She glanced at the marines, and getting five nods, she keyed the door to open. "Keelah se'lai!" came the warcry, as the five marines charged into the room. Aer's eyes scanned the darkened interior, seeing the lights of Geth platforms all around them. The room itself was fairly open, with a set of catwalks tracing the ceiling. The largest feature was the massive Element Zero core, dominating the center of the large room. As the marines charged forward towards an assortment of crates, Geth weaponry opened up on their position, riddling both the floor and the Quarians' shields in equal measure. Once they finally had make it to cover, they began returning fire with their own weapons. The vibration of Adas fire began to drown out the distant Pulse Rifles of their targets as one by one, Geth fell to the Quarians' fire.

"Keep up the fire!" Kal shouted, before hurling an Arc Grenade over his makeshift cover into a thick cluster of Geth. The result was a satisfying light show of electrical currents shorting out every circuit in each of the Geth, followed by the silent thumps of said Geth clattering to the floor. By this point Jan and several other Quarian from the Seventh were providing cover fire from the doorway, with the majority of the upper catwalks being bathed in blue sparks. Eventually the bay fell quiet, as the last of the platforms fell in the reactor room. Outside, however, the battle continued, without the cover afforded to the marines. Quarian from the Seventh began piling into the doorway, with others holding just outside to provide fire support.

As Jan and several Quarian from the Seventh began setting up the charges, Aer leaned against one of the crates with his rifle, briefly wondering how the rest of the invasion was going. _What if the rest of the Geth can break through the countermeasure, _he thought grimly to himself. _If this isn't just unique to this station, the war just got a lot harder. _He looked up to see Cor and Kezz heading towards him. "Think this is going to work, Aer?" Kezz asked as the two came to a stop beside him. He thought for a moment. "Jan's plan, or the whole war?" he retorted. He was answered with a sigh from Kezz. "Thought you'd say that…" Cor shook his helmeted head. "The Admiral's will think of something. Xen's division is probably close to fixing the issue as we speak." The kid sounded like he was trying to make himself believe it. Aer clapped him on the shoulder. "We'll make it through this. We're Marines," he said with a smile. "This is what we do."

"Charges set, Kal. We're ready at this end," Jan's voice came over the comm. Aer straightened and grabbed his Adas from the crate. Horx and Kal were giving orders by the time Aer, Kezz, and Cor arrived. "...With Horx and hold position. The rest of you, back to the shuttles." He turned and clasped Horx on the shoulder. Horx nodded and glanced to the three. "Keelah se'lai," he simply stated before turning to set up his defense. Kal turned to Jan. "How long before the charges det?" he asked. "We've got twenty minutes, or...until Horx's group flatlines," she said uncertainly. Kal nodded. "We've got to-" he started, before getting cut off. "This is Lok'Zorn. First Company prepare for immediate extraction. The Orah has been recalled. Priority one. The Seventh are to hold position and complete the objective, or fall back to the shuttles, depending on situation." Kal bit out a curse before replying. "Copy that, Orah, First Company in route. We'll be there soon. Reegar out." Kal then looked at the rest of Second Squad, as well as Lin'Taxa. "Time to go boys and girls. Kill anything that gets between us and that shuttle." He received five nods before checking his clip. "Alright, shift it," he ordered, and the six Quarians were off, along with the remains of the Seventh.

After a short, but eventful trip back to the shuttles, the remains of First Company were again packed into their shuttle hold, gathered around the monitor as the minutes ticked down. Three minutes ahead of schedule, however, there was a massive explosion in the station, bringing the kinetic barriers offline and tearing a section of the massive station apart. Heads bowed, eyes closed. 'Keelah se'lai," Kal simply said. "Keelah se'lai," five voices replied.

* * *

The Orah flew silently through space, it's engines propelling it urgently towards it's destination. After recovering First Company, the Orah had headed straight into the main bulk of the fighting, giving those in the hangar bay a good view of the battle. It didn't look good. The Geth were fielding everything they had, including a massive dreadnaught of their own design. Far larger than anything the Quarians were fielding, it's main gun battery was capable of tearing holes in the Heavy Fleet vessels. The rest of the Geth fleet was moving with such precision, it made them wonder what had changed in the time since the war started. It was only after they picked up shuttles carrying the Admiralty Board did they realize how bad things were.

And why they were now heading towards the Tikkun Mass Relay, away from the war that now held the survival of their race in the balance.


End file.
